Award is given annually to scientists making significant advances in the study of human toxicology

By Lindsay Brownell

The Lewis Lab’s 3D bioprinting mechanism uses a special polymer “ink” (pink) to print organ-imitating tissues that can be used for in vitro toxicology studies. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

(CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — Jennifer Lewis, ScD., Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute and the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), has been named a winner of the 2017 Lush Prize, and will share a portion of the £350,000 award to support her group’s research into 3D human organ-on-chip models. Lewis is attending the award ceremony today at the headquarters of Lush Cosmetics, where she will give a presentation about her work.

The Lush Prize, a joint project between Lush Cosmetics and the Ethical Consumer Research Association (ECRA), was founded in 2012 as a way of supporting initiatives to fully replace the use of animals in toxicology research. Animal studies, while notoriously inaccurate in predicting human responses to drugs and chemicals, are still widely used by the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, largely because there are no alternative options for testing the safety of products intended for human use and consumption.

Fully funded by Lush Cosmetics, the prize is intended to encourage the development of “21st-Century Toxicology,” a new approach to safety testing that focuses on human “toxicity pathways,” or the sequences of molecular changes within the body’s cells following exposure to a toxic chemical. The scientific elucidation of these molecular pathways for different groups of chemicals and different toxic effects makes possible the development of non-animal safety tests that, because they are based on human cells’ responses, are also more likely to accurately predict toxicity.

Lewis is a winner in the “Science Prize” category, which is awarded for work conducted on relevant toxicity pathways and other approaches that can obviate the need for the use of animals in cosmetics testing. Her research team’s collaborative work on 3D organs-on-chips, which are composed of human cells accompanied by vasculature and extracellular matrix using innovative 3D bioprinting technology, display organ-specific functionality and have the potential to demonstrate the effects of chemicals and drugs on various tissues in the human body without the need for exposing human or animal test subjects to potentially toxic substances. Lewis plans to use the funds to further accelerate her lab’s cutting edge work, with the goal of one day replacing animal models in toxicity testing globally.

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University (http://wyss.harvard.edu) uses Nature’s design principles to develop bioinspired materials and devices that will transform medicine and create a more sustainable world. Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing that are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and formation of new startups. The Wyss Institute creates transformative technological breakthroughs by engaging in high risk research, and crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers, working as an alliance that includes Harvard’s Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Arts & Sciences and Design, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston University, Tufts University, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, University of Zurich and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (http://seas.harvard.edu) serves as the connector and integrator of Harvard’s teaching and research efforts in engineering, applied sciences, and technology. Through collaboration with researchers from all parts of Harvard, other universities, and corporate and foundational partners, we bring discovery and innovation directly to bear on improving human life and society.